Sean Wilton was taking pictures of the brawl that broke out between two groups of men outside Manchester Magistrates’ Court following a hearing into an alleged assault on Channel Four’s Big Fat Gypsy Weddings star Paddy Doherty.

Police arrested six people and then arrested the 43-year-old photographer for breach of the peace before bundling him into the back of a police van.

Fellow MEN photographer Steve Allen, 53, was also threatened with arrest. Officers had told the two photographers not to take pictures of suspects’ faces.

It appears that the police office told Wilton to stop taking photos of faces didn’t want a discussion about it, and interpreted any discussion as ‘obstructing a police officer.’

When asked by HTFP about what happened Greater Manchester Police said:

“A photographer was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace and on suspicion of obstructing a police officer.

“Officers brought the situation under control and the photographer was de-arrested and subsequently released.”

On one hand, this sounds like a PR-speak way of saying the copper involved got it wrong. A a more suspicious mind might conclude that it’s a clever way of the police getting a photographer out of the way when it suits them.

After all, it’s hardly a good look for the police to be unable to break up a fight outside a court, is it?